It's safe to assume that the majority of all Internet of Things (IoT) devices operate near large populations of people. Of course, right? This is where the action happens - smart devices, smart cars, smart infrastructure, smart cities, etc. Plus, the cost of getting "internet-connected" in these areas is relatively low - public access to Wi-Fi is becoming widely available, cellular coverage is blanketed over cities, etc.

But what about the devices out in the middle of nowhere? The industrial technology that integrates and communicates with heavy machinery that isn't always "IP connected," operating in locations not only hard to reach, but often exposed harsh weather. The fact remains, this is where IoT connectivity is potentially most challenging to enable, but also perhaps the most important to have. Why? Because these numerous assets help deliver the lifeblood for our critical infrastructures - electricity, water, energy, etc. Without these legacy and geographically dispersed machines, a smart world may never exist.

But let's back up for a second and squash any misconceptions about the "industrial" connectivity picture we're painting above. Take this excerpt from Varun Nagaraj in a past O'Reilly Radar article:

"... unlike most consumer IoT scenarios, which involve digital devices that already have IP support built in or that can be IP enabled easily, typical IIoT scenarios involve pre-IP legacy devices. And unfortunately, IP enablement isn't free. Industrial device owners need a direct economic benefit to justify IP enabling their non-IP devices. Alternatively, they need a way to gain the benefits of IP without giving up their investments in their existing industrial devices - that is, without stranding these valuable industrial assets.

Rather than seeing industrial device owners as barriers to progress, we should be looking for ways to help industrial devices become as connected as appropriate - for example, for improved peer-to-peer operation and to contribute their important small data to the larger big-data picture of the IoT."

It sounds like the opportunity ahead for the industrial IoT is to provide industrial devices and machines with an easy migration path to internet connectivity by creatively addressing its constraints (outdated protocols, legacy equipment, the need for both wired and wireless connections, etc.) and enabling new abilities for the organization.

Let's look at an example of how this industrial IoT transformation is happening.

Voice, Video, Data & SensorsImagine you are a technician from a power plant in an developing part of the world with lots of desert terrain. The company you work for provides power to an entire region of people, which is difficult considering the power plant location is in an extremely remote location facing constant sand blasts and extreme temperatures. The reliance your company places on the industrial devices being used to monitor and control all facets of the power plant itself is paramount. If they fail, the plant fails and your customers are without power. This is where reliable, outdoor IoT connectivity is a must:

With a plethora of machinery and personnel onsite, you need a self-healing Wi-Fi mesh network over the entire power plant so that internet connections aren't lost mid-operation.

Because the traditional phone-line system doesn't extend to the remote location of the power plant, and cell coverage is weak, the company requires Voice over IP (VoIP) communications. Also, because there's no physical hardware involved, personnel never needs to worry about maintenance, repairs or upgrades.

The company wants to ensure no malfeasance takes place onsite, especially due to the mission-critical nature of the power plant. Therefore, security camera control and video transport is required back to a central monitoring center.

Power plants require cooling applications to ensure the integrity and safety of the power generation taking place. The company requires Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networking for monitoring the quality of the inbound water being used to cool the equipment.

The company wants to provide visibility to its customers in how much energy they are consuming. This requires Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) backhaul networking to help manage the energy consumption taking place within the smart grid.

Since the power plant is in a remote location, there is only one tiny village nearby being used by the families and workers at the power plant. The company wants to provide a Wi-Fi hotspot for the residents.

From the outline above, it sounds like a lot of different IoT networking devices will need to be used to address all of these applications at the power plant. If the opportunity ahead for the industrial IoT is to provide industrial devices and machines with an easy migration path to IP connectivity, what solutions are available to make this a reality for the power plant situation above? Not just that, but a solution with proven reliability in extreme environmental conditions? We might know one...

@ThingsExpo - The World's Largest 'Internet of Things' Event, June 7-9 2016 at New York City's Javits Center!

All major researchers estimate there will be tens of billions devices - computers, smartphones, tablets, and sensors - connected to the Internet by 2020. This number will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the next several decades.

With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing IoT strategies, now is the perfect time to attend @ThingsExpo, June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City. Learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is as "IoT-Ready" as it can be.Register for @[email protected] 'FREE' Before Friday! ▸ Here

Delegates to @ThingsExpo will be able to attend 14 simultaneous, information-packed education tracks.

There are over 120 breakout sessions in all, with Keynotes, General Sessions, and Power Panels adding to three days of incredibly rich presentations and content.

Join @ThingsExpo conference chair Roger Strukhoff (@IoT2040), June 7-9, 2016 in New York City, for three days of intense 'Internet of Things' discussion and focus, including Big Data's indespensable role in IoT, Smart Grids and Industrial Internet of Things, Wearables and Consumer IoT, as well as (new) IoT's use in Vertical Markets.

Speaking Proposals OpenFourth International @ThingsExpo, co-located with 18th International @CloudExpo- being held June 7-9, 2016 at the Javits Center in New York City, announces that its Call for Papers for speaking opportunities is open. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the most profound change in personal and enterprise IT since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago.

Sponsorship Opportunities Open@ThingsExpo, June 7-9, 2016 at the Javits Center in New York City, is co-located with 18th Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world.

Show Me The Money!How We Built and Scaled an IoT Platform and Business

In his keynote at @ThingsExpo, Chris Matthieu, Director of IoT Engineering at Citrix and co-founder and CTO of Octoblu, focused on building an IoT platform and company. He provided a behind-the-scenes look at Octoblu's platform, business, and pivots along the way (including the Citrix acquisition of Octoblu).

@ThingsExpo has been named the Top Most Influential Internet of Things'Media Brand' by Onalytica in the ‘The Internet of Things Landscape 2015: Top 100 Individuals and Brands.'

Onalytica analyzed Twitter conversations around the IoT debate to uncover the most influential brands and individuals driving the conversation.

Intel and Cisco have been named the world's most influential IoT brands, followed by SYS-CON Media's global IoT event, @ThingsExpo as the world's most influential IoT media brand. [continued]

New York and Silicon Valley Sponsors and ExhibitorsDuring our last New York and Silicon Valley events, over 12,000 (audited) delegates registered and participated at @ThingsExpo, in the world's largest 'Internet of Things'event, colocated with @CloudExpo. Our conference delegates met with over 160 of the world's leading technology pioneers that were among the sponsors and exhibitors, including:

Our Demo Theater on the Expo Floor attracts more delegates than the entire conference of other events

@CloudExpo / @ThingsExpo Has Been a Must-Attend Event for EricssonThis week, the team assembled in NYC for @Cloud Expo 2015 and @ThingsExpo 2015. For the past four years, this has been a must-attend event for MetraTech. We were happy to once again join industry visionaries, colleagues, customers and even competitors to share and explore the ways in which the Internet of Things (IoT) will impact our industry. Over the course of the show, we discussed the types of challenges we will collectively need to solve to capitalize on the opportunity IoT presents. [continued]

Scott is an executive leader with more than 25 years of experience in product lifecycle management, product marketing, business development, and technology deployment. He offers a unique blend of start-up aggressiveness and established company executive leadership, with expertise in product delivery, demand generation, and global market expansion. As CMO of FreeWave, Scott is responsible for product life cycle/management, GTM execution, demand generation, and brand creation/expansion strategies.

Cloud Expo

Cloud Computing & All That
It Touches In One Location Cloud Computing - Big Data - Internet of Things
SDDC - WebRTC - DevOps
Cloud computing is become a norm within enterprise IT.

The competition among public cloud providers is red hot, private cloud continues to grab increasing shares of IT budgets, and hybrid cloud strategies are beginning to conquer the enterprise IT world.

Big Data is driving dramatic leaps in resource requirements and capabilities, and now the Internet of Things promises an exponential leap in the size of the Internet and Worldwide Web.

The world of SDX now encompasses Software-Defined Data Centers (SDDCs) as the technology world prepares for the Zettabyte Age.

Add the key topics of WebRTC and DevOps into the mix, and you have three days of pure cloud computing that you simply cannot miss.

Delegates will leave Cloud Expo with dramatically increased understanding the entire scope of the entire cloud computing spectrum from storage to security.

Cloud Expo - the world's most established event - offers a vast selection of 130+ technical and strategic Industry Keynotes, General Sessions, Breakout Sessions, and signature Power Panels. The exhibition floor features 100+ exhibitors offering specific solutions and comprehensive strategies. The floor also features two Demo Theaters that give delegates the opportunity to get even closer to the technology they want to see and the people who offer it.

Attend Cloud Expo. Craft your own custom experience. Learn the latest from the world's best technologists. Find the vendors you want and put them to the test.